Texas Lawmakers Pass Statewide Ride-Hailing Regulations

The Texas Senate approved a statewide ride-hailing bill that would require name-based background checks and an annual licensing fee.

Miguel Gutierrez Jr.
/ KUT

Texas Senators have approved a bill that creates statewide regulations for ride-hailing apps like Uber and Lyft. House Bill 100 would preempt regulations on the so-called transportation network companies in cities like Austin. The Senate passed the bill on a 21-9 vote.

The bill passed with at least two-thirds majorities in both the House and Senate, so it could take effect immediately if Gov. Greg Abbott signs it, which he is expected to do.

The bill requires ride-hailing drivers to pass name-based background checks – as opposed to the fingerprint-based checks required in Austin. It also allows cities to set up data-sharing agreements with ride-hailers to collect traffic data, as well as establish programs to increase accessibility for passengers with disabilities. Ride-hailing companies would pay an annual licensing fee to the state, as well.

Abbott's signature would open the door for Uber and Lyft to return to Austin. Both ride-hailing providers left after last year's Prop 1 referendum, which upheld the city's use of fingerprint-based background checks.

In an emails to KUT, spokespeople for both Uber and Lyft said the companies would return to Austin immediately if Abbott signs the bill.

Austin Mayor Steve Adler said he was disappointed lawmakers passed the bill, "imposing regulations on our city over the objection of Austin voters."

"Our city should be proud of how we filled the gap created when Uber and Lyft left," he said in a statement, "and we now must hope that they return ready to compete in a way that reflects Austin’s values."

On the Senate floor Wednesday, Sen. Don Huffines (R-Greenville) questioned Georgetown Republican Sen. Charles Schwertner, the bill’s sponsor in the Senate, suggesting that the licensing and background checks were onerous.

“We’re assuming with this legislation that the government’s more capable of determining who’s a safe driver and to help the passengers than the passengers are in determining that, or the companies themselves,” he said.

Schwertner defended the regulations and said the bill would preempt “overly aggressive municipalities that are trying to be protectionist” – a veiled jab at Austin’s regulations – and that the bill would level the playing field for ride-hailing apps.

"Over 40 states in this country have already acknowledged these realities and chose to enact a consistent, predictable system of regulation that licenses TNC operators at the state level,” he said. “This bill is about protecting the safety of our constituents, as well as economic liberty.”

The bill drew controversy last month in the House, when an amendment was added to the bill’s language to define sex as “the physical condition of being male or female." That language was taken out of the bill initially, but made it back into the bill passed by the Senate this afternoon.

Five days after a controversial amendment defining "sex" as "the physical condition of being male or female" was added to a statewide ride-hailing bill, representatives from Uber and Lyft called the addition disappointing and unnecessary — though both companies stopped short of saying they'd withdraw their support.

After a lengthy debate among lawmakers over the best way to regulate services like Uber and Lyft, the Texas House backed a proposal that would override local regulations concerning ride-hailing companies.

FORT WORTH — Gov. Greg Abbott raised many eyebrows last week when he threw his support behind a "broad-based law" that pre-empts local regulations, a remark that did anything but calm the already contentious local control battles at the Texas Capitol.